


Paths of Joy and Woe

by Mara



Category: S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV), 喜欢你时风好甜 | Flipped (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26596510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: Bai Yutong wasn’t expecting to find anyone in his office. Let alone himself.
Relationships: Bái Chí/Zhào Zhēn, Bái Yùtáng/Zhǎn Zhāo, Feng Shuangshuang/Qi Xun
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Paths of Joy and Woe

**Author's Note:**

> This diverges in a couple of significant ways from Flipped canon. If you’ve seen the show, they’ll be obvious when you reach them. If you haven’t seen the show, you won’t care. Outside of the fusion aspects, it’s essentially canon-compliant for S.C.I. Mystery.

Bai Yutong was generally good at handling surprises. He had quick reflexes and excellent control over his reactions. But could anyone blame him for fumbling a bit when he entered his office and found _himself_ sitting in his chair? His double smirked as Yutong pointed his gun.

“Who the hell are you?” Yutong asked, holding the gun steady as he catalogued the differences between them. The other man’s hair was a little longer, his suit a little looser, but his face was the same.

“I’m your twin brother, Qi Xun.”

“Like hell. I don’t have a twin brother.” Yutong took a step closer. 

“Turns out you do. Believe me, I was just as surprised.”

“Get up slowly and come around the desk.”

Qi Xun sighed. “You can’t shoot me.”

“You better believe I can.”

And in an instant, Qi Xun was gone, leaving behind just a little red mist in the air. Then Qi Xun’s voice came from behind him and Yutong whirled. “No, I mean you literally can’t. You’re fast, but definitely not at my level. What did they do to you?”

“What did who do?”

“The people who took you.”

“What the actual fuck?”

“You may have noticed a resemblance between us.” Qi Xun raised an eyebrow at him. “We’re twins, but we were separated as young children. The people who took you and two other children with abilities have managed to hide you all this time.”

“Two other—”

“Have you noticed that Zhan Yao is just a bit too good at reading people? It’s almost as if he can read their minds.”

“What? No.”

“And Bai Chi’s intelligence and memory don’t come from the people who raised him, do they?”

Yutong tried not to think about his aunt and uncle, who definitely didn’t seem like geniuses. “This is ridiculous.”

“You can’t deny that I can do something most people can’t.” Qi Xun appeared on the other side of the office. “We’ve been watching all of you for a while. That’s how we figured out Zhan Yao and Bai Chi’s powers.”

“You’ve been watching us?” Yutong narrowed his eyes but he slowly put his gun away.

“For one thing, we had to be certain we had the right children. Well…you were obvious.” He shrugged. “We didn’t know a lot about the other two, so we had to check some things. We ended up asking Qi Tian, er, that’s our sister, to check.”

“Sister?” Yutong repeated.

“Qi Tian is our younger sister. You never knew her, because she was born after you were taken.”

Yutong slammed his hand on the wall. “This is fucking insane. You can’t come in here and tell me I was _kidnapped as a kid_ and expect me to believe it!”

Qi Xun looked at him, face drawn and sad. “I can and I am. To begin with, do you have another explanation for us being identical?”

“Coincidence. A weird coincidence.” Yutong crossed his arms, glaring.

Sighing, Qi Xun reached into his jacket pocket, ignoring Yutong’s reflexive reach for his gun, and pulled out an envelope. “Fine. Qi Tian said you’d refuse to listen, so she wrote this down for you.”

Yutong gingerly took the sealed envelope. “What in the world could she write that would possibly convince me?”

“Oh right, I forgot to mention that she can see into the future, didn’t I?”

Yutong almost dropped the envelope. “What?”

“I don’t know what’s in there, but she said to give it to you when our conversation seemed stalled.” 

Staring, Yutong slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. In a rather childish handwriting, it said, “Hi, brother! I can’t wait to meet you! Oh, at some point after you read this, there’s going to be a big mess in the open area outside your office. A woman in very short shorts is going to collide with a man carrying a cake and it’s going to get all over everything. Sorry! Love, Qi Tian.”

Yutong’s lips twitched. Okay, it wasn’t a bad guess of something that might happen with his team. And the thought of Ma Han with cake all over her was kind of hilarious. But really, there was no way to predict this kind of thing.

“So, if whatever Tiantian said really happens, will you take me seriously?”

Chuckling, Yutong waved a magnanimous hand. “Sure sure.”

“Then I’ll leave you my card.” And Qi Xun dropped a business card on the desk and waggled his fingers. “Bye bye.” Then he vanished in a puff of red smoke.

“Maybe I need more sleep,” Yutong said. With a sigh, he pushed the card aside and opened a file folder to get some work done. There was no way he was going to try and explain to anyone that he’d seen himself teleporting in and out of his office. They’d have his badge and put him in a looney bin.

* * *

Stomping out of his office an hour later, Bai Yutong was yelling for Zhao Fu when he saw it: Wang Shao carrying a precariously balanced cream cake as he glanced behind him to speak to someone. Like an oncoming car crash, he watched Ma Han round the corner from the other side, paying more attention to her phone than anything else.

Their collision was epic. In most circumstances, it would have been _hilarious_. Yutong would have taken pictures for later blackmail purposes and also to show Zhan Yao, who had the misfortune to miss it.

But as he watched the two of them yell at each other while smeared in cream, all Yutong could think was ‘Well shit, now I have to listen to him.’

Turning on his heel, he went back into his office and closed the door. The card was still sitting on his desk, an innocent piece of cardstock. Breathing in deep, he texted Bai Chi and Zhan Yao. _Can we meet at Zhao Zhen’s immediately? Just you the three of you._

_That sounds ominous,_ Zhan Yao replied.

_It was supposed to._

It took a few minutes, but Bai Chi replied. _Yes? That’s fine. We’re here._

_On my way,_ Yutong said.

He picked up the card and fiddled with it for a few moments before dialing the number scribbled on the back.

“Qi Xun? I’m ready to talk. I’ll send you an address.”

* * *

Anxious faces looked at Yutong as he stomped into the living room following Zhao Zhen. Well, Bai Chi was clearly anxious, Zhao Zhen was subtly anxious and immediately walked to the couch to hover over Bai Chi, and Zhan Yao wouldn’t have looked anxious to anyone else, but was obviously on edge.

Yutong held up a hand before they could speak. “This is going to sound really fucking insane and I need you to give me a break before you have me committed.”

This statement did not noticeably decrease the anxiety in the room, but Yutong went on. “A guy appeared in my office today claiming I’m his missing and kidnapped twin brother. He certainly looked like me. Then…” He took a breath. “Then he proved to me that he could teleport around my office.”

Bai Chi looked impressed, the other two less so. Which wasn’t really surprising for the master magician and master hypnotist. 

“He gave me a paper he said his—our sister had written, predicting a highly improbable incident involving Ma Han and Wang Shao. This incident occurred about 30 minutes ago right in front of my eyes. At this point I’m provisionally ready to listen to what he has to say.”

“I could have—” “You know it’s—” Zhao Zhen and Zhan Yao started speaking at the same time, then stopped, looking at each other.

“I know,” Yutong said to both of them. “That’s part of why the two of you are here.”

“What’s the other part?” Zhan Yao was looking closely at him and stood, taking a step toward him.

Yutong looked between him and Bai Chi. “He claims that the two of you were kidnapped as well. That all three of us have…powers that our parents have hidden.”

Zhao Zhen crossed his arms, looking uncomfortable. “It sounds like a cult recruitment.”

With a half-smile, Zhan Yao glanced at him. “Can you imagine two less likely recruits to a cult than Bai Yutong and myself?”

Bai Chi nodded firmly, then scowled. “Wait…”

Everyone ignored him. “I told you it sounds insane,” Yutong said with a shrug. “He’s on his way and you can evaluate for yourself.”

It was only a few minutes later that a doorbell rang and Zhao Zhen stood, motioning the others to stay put. He returned in a few moments with Qi Xun and two young women.

For a few moments, everyone was staring between Qi Xun and Bai Yutong, until the former rolled his eyes. “Yes yes, we’re identical twins. Moving along…” He gestured to the two women next to him. 

“Hi, I’m Qi Tian,” the younger one said with a happy grin.

“And I’m Feng Shuang Shuang,” the other one said.

“You don’t have to introduce yourselves,” Qi Xun said before the others could open their mouths. “We know who you are.”

Shuang Shuang sighed, looking up at him. “You probably shouldn’t be rude if you want to convince them.”

Qi Xun glanced at her, then his expression softened. Well now, Yutong thought, he’s brought his girlfriend along. That’s certainly interesting.

“Bai Yutong tells us that you can teleport,” Zhao Zhen said with a smile that clearly showed his distrust.

Shuang Shuang smiled at Qi Xun, then made a little shooing motion with her hands. Qi Xun disappeared in the puff of red smoke and appeared behind Zhao Zhen, who whirled, looking surprised for the first time Yutong could recall. “I can,” Qi Xun said.

Zhao Zhen’s brain was clearly working so hard that it seemed as if steam might come out of his ears. “Hmm,” was all he said. 

Yutong glanced at Zhan Yao, who was doing his best to look unimpressed but clearly was surprised, if not actually shocked.

Qi Xun held out a hand to Zhao Zhen, a tiny smirk on his lips. “Care for a ride?”

Bai Chi made a small sound but didn’t try to stop Zhao Zhen from taking Qi Xun’s hand. Both of them vanished in a puff and Yutong held his breath for the full 10 seconds it took them to reappear in the room.

Zhao Zhen raised an eyebrow, having recovered his usual aplomb. “If it’s a trick, I’d love to know how it’s done.”

“Your dog needs a bath,” Qi Xun said.

Zhao Zhen nodded. “We went to the backyard and then back here.”

“So,” Qi Xun said, gathering everyone’s attention. “If we’re done with show and tell, can we move on?”

Yutong stepped forward, meeting his gaze. “Assuming I believe your story…who took us?”

Qi Xun pulled a small pile of photos out of his pocket and fanned them out. Yutong’s eyes immediately fastened on the picture in the middle. “My parents?”

“My father,” Zhan Yao said quietly.

“And my uncle,” Zhao Zhen said, sounding unsurprised. (Yutong had to admit that it was hardly the most surprising thing they’d learned about Zhao Jue.)

“We have witnesses, photos, sworn statements,” Qi Xun said, sounding sorry for the first time. “It’s taken us time to be sure.”

“If you’d listened to me—” Qi Tian started.

“Bad enough you kept using your powers to see Kun Lan,” Shuang Shuang said, shaking an admonishing finger at her.

“Well, you fixed me, so it’s okay!”

Yutong rubbed his forehead and Zhan Yao put a hand on his shoulder. Closing his eyes, Yutong focused on that familiar feeling and took a breath. Then he looked at Zhan Yao. “Well?”

“They’re telling the truth.”

“You’re sure?”

Zhan Yao nodded.

Qi Tian smiled brightly at him. “You’re accessing your powers!”

Yutong looked at her, then at a very startled Zhan Yao. They’d both always taken for granted his…almost supernatural ability to determine when people were lying or hiding something. But what if it really was supernatural?

Qi Xun looked at Shuang Shuang. “Do you think you can fix what was done to them?”

Pursing her lips, she nodded slowly. “I’d need to examine them more closely, but it seems as if their lines are just all in a tangle, not actually broken.”

“My uncle must have done something,” Zhao Zhen said quietly, putting a hand on Bai Chi’s back. “Hypnosis could certainly tie up their energy in different ways.”

“But why?” Zhan Yao said. 

“Maybe,” Shuang Shuang said, “they thought they were protecting you. The powers can be scary.”

Qi Xun put an arm around her and held her close. Yutong could tell from his expression that he didn’t agree with the assessment but didn’t want to openly contradict her.

“Wh-what about our r-real parents?” Bai Chi was stuttering, a habit he’d grown out of except for moments of great emotion.

Yutong looked at all the newcomers, who had varying expressions of dismay. “They’re dead, aren’t they?” he said to get it out of the way.

“Yes,” Qi Xun replied to him. “Our parents died in a car accident. We’re not certain what happened to your parents,” he said to Bai Chi and Zhan Yao. “We were lucky to find witnesses who told us there were children who disappeared after their parents died.”

Zhan Yao looked at Yutong and they nodded at each other. Bai Chi was basically hiding in Zhao Zhen’s arms, so this was a good time to change the subject. “What now?” Zhan Yao asked.

Qi Tian smiled. “We’d like to get to know you. If you want, Shuang Shuang can help you regain your powers. There are so many people who would like to meet you.”

“Other people with powers?” Zhan Yao asked.

“Some. There are a few others who know about our abilities. And healers like Shuang Shuang.” 

Shuang Shuang patted Qi Xun’s hand. “And there are protectors, families that vowed to protect healers from being abused by people with powers.” 

Yutong knew there was a story there from the look on her face, but he let it go for the moment. Everyone seemed to be lost in thought, so he caught Qi Xun’s eye and jerked his chin at him. The other man followed him into the next room.

“Why now?” Yutong asked bluntly.

“We didn’t even know about you until recently,” Qi Xun said. “Our parents never told me.”

“You said there was a car accident.” Yutong waited.

“Yes, we were on our way to celebrate Qi Tian’s birthday and the car ran off the road. For some reason I survived, but the shock activated my ability years before it should have. I was saved by Shuang Shuang’s mother. That part is complicated. Anyway, maybe they’d planned to tell me about you later. Or they thought you were dead. It’s hard to say.”

“What happened, then?”

Qi Xun leaned back in his chair, staring at his hands. “Shuang Shuang and I…she moved in with me and in the process, I was clearing out some boxes that had been sitting in an empty room. So she could use it as a painting studio. I found boxes we’d moved from our parents’ house but never opened.”

Yutong waited again.

“There were photos. Of us as babies and toddlers. Our parents holding both of us. Your birth certificate. A few other things.”

“Fuck,” Yutong breathed, trying to imagine how that felt.

“Yeah.” Qi Xun glanced sideways at him. “Do you want to know your birth name?”

Yutong closed his eyes. He hadn’t thought about that. “Not…not right now.”

“Okay.” Qi Xun didn’t look surprised. “Anyway, we started to investigate what happened to you, which led us to the discovery that two other kids had been taken.”

Yutong’s head shot up. “Are there even more?”

“It’s possible,” Qi Xun said slowly. “We’re still looking. More importantly for the moment, will you let Shuang Shuang heal you?”

“I don’t know. Will my power be the same as yours?”

Qi Xun shrugged. “We’re assuming so, but we have no records of twins with powers.”

“Really?”

“There aren’t that many accurate records and there aren’t that many of us with powers,” Qi Xun admitted. “At least not that many we know of. It’s the problem with all the secrecy.”

“But if word got out…”

“Mm-hmm.” 

“What…” Yutong closed his eyes for a moment. “What’s it like? To teleport like that?”

Qi Xun clasped his hands together and looked down at them. “It’s amazing. And terrible.” He looked up. “Depending on how far I move and if I try to bring someone with me, it can feel shitty when I arrive. Pain, dizziness, disorientation. I’ve gotten used to it, but it’s still a price I pay every time.”

Yutong nodded slowly, but all he could think of was the number of times an ability like that would have saved him a lot of trouble. He’d take pain and dizziness if it meant he could get Zhan Yao out of danger immediately. And himself, of course. But mostly Zhan Yao. “I think I will,” he said.

Qi Xun gave him a look that was filled with understanding.

“Why do _you_ think we were taken?” 

Qi Xun raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“You don’t agree with your girlfriend that they were trying to protect us.”

“No.” Tapping his fingers on his knee, Qi Xun shook his head. “It seems more likely they were trying to control you and your powers.”

Yutong snorted. “So you’ve met Zhao Jue, then.”

Qi Xun looked startled. “What do you mean?”

“He’s been trying to control us, well, mostly Zhan Yao, for years. Maybe our parents were in on it, maybe they weren’t. But him? Definitely planning to use us if he could.”

“There’s a story there.”

“Yeah.” Yutong took a breath and let it out slowly. “Too long for right now, but yeah.”

* * *

Zhao Zhen and Bai Chi had been huddled together in the corner for a while, heads close together. Yutong caught Zhao Zhen’s eye and the latter gave a small shrug to show they were processing.

Zhan Yao, on the other hand, had been talking with Shuang Shuang, clearly questioning her closely about her powers. She looked a little relieved when Qi Xun slid onto the couch next to her and pulled her close.

Jerking his chin, Yutong summoned Zhan Yao and they went down the hallway. “So?” Yutong asked.

“It still sounds insane,” Zhan Yao said.

“You can say that again.”

“But it holds together and at the very least all three of them absolutely believe what they’re telling us.”

Yutong looked at Zhan Yao. “Are you reading their minds?”

“I don’t know.” Zhan Yao frowned. “It’s certainly never seemed that way. It’s not as if I hear them thinking ‘Yes, this is all true.’”

Yutong chuckled quietly. 

“It’s a…feeling. I’ve always believed it was a result of instinct and training in body language, but perhaps that was a justification.”

“And if they’re right and you only have access to part of your powers, you wouldn’t really be reading their minds anyway.”

Zhan Yao looked at him for a long moment. “I can’t believe we’re even considering this as a possibility.”

“As you said, it holds together.”

Rubbing his temples, Zhan Yao sighed. “Right.” Then his hands dropped. “Oh, there was something they forgot to mention.”

Yutong tensed. “What?”

“If Shuang Shuang heals us, it will use her personal energy. She’ll only be able to do one person at a time and will require rest and recuperation in between.”

“Is it dangerous for her?”

Zhan Yao considered it. “She didn’t seem to think it was dangerous, exactly. More…exhausting.”

“Hmm.” Yutong glanced back toward the living room. “I’m surprised Qi Xun will allow it.”

“What do you—Oh.” Zhan Yao’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s definitely interesting.”

“The way he looks at her…this is so important that he’s willing to let her exhaust herself. Three times.” Yutong sighed, leaning against the wall.

“I’m going to say yes,” Zhan Yao said abruptly.

Yutong wished he could say he was surprised but it had been a foregone conclusion from the moment they said he could read minds. There was no way he’d be able to resist that. “Are you…” he paused, rephrased. “Have you considered the ethics?”

Zhan Yao met his gaze squarely. “You said you trust me.”

“I do.” Straightening, he looked back at his best friend, his partner, his…whatever they were. “I trust you. Do you trust yourself to use this power ethically?”

Zhan Yao blinked. “Yes,” he said eventually.

“Then that’s it.” He shrugged.

“What about you?”

Yutong looked down at the floor, not wanting to see Zhan Yao’s face. “I will too.”

“Will your power be the same as Qi Xun’s?”

“Most likely.” Shrugging, Yutong glanced up at Zhan Yao. “They don’t have a lot of data to work with, but it seems likely.”

“You’re thinking about being able to get me to safety in a crisis,” Zhan Yao said.

“Fuck you.” It wasn’t a vehement response, more resigned. Did the man actually need help in mindreading? He seemed to do pretty well on his own.

Zhan Yao put a hand on Yutong’s shoulder. “I hope you would also use it to save your own life. In which case, I approve.”

“Do you think Bai Chi’s going to agree?”

“Yes,” Zhan Yao said without hesitation. “He’s nervous but he’s incurably curious as well. He won’t be able to resist the idea that there’s more he can do and learn.”

Yutong chuckled quietly, then frowned. “What do you think Zhao Jue’s plan was?”

“I assume before he was jailed he intended to undo whatever he’d done to our powers.” Zhan Yao paused, speaking slowly and clearly reluctantly. “Presumably he would have replaced that with something to allow him to control us.” 

“You know we can’t allow that, right?”

“Of course,” Zhan Yao shot back, looking irritated.

“Just checking.” Yutong nodded and led the way back to the living room.

Everyone looked up when they came in and Yutong found himself meeting Qi Xun’s…his twin brother’s gaze and nodding. This was all going to be even more weird than his normal life but for some reason he couldn’t quite manage to regret it. 

Things were getting interesting and Yutong couldn’t help grinning as he looked at Zhan Yao, who grinned right back.

Yeah, it was going to be interesting, but he wasn’t going to be alone, so everything would be okay.

—end—


End file.
